Transfer Smart News: Hilton Timeshares’ Expansion in Hawaii Creates 700 Jobs
by Transfer America on April 6th, 2010
filed under Transfer America
Although many owners try to get out of their timeshares nowadays, the establishment of such industry on the other hand creates a number of benefits to the economy. One of its great benefits is the creation of jobs. Take for example the recent case of Hilton Hawaiian Village which will be building two new timeshare towers as part of a 10-year master plan at the 22-acre resort. According to Jerry Gibson, area vice president and managing director for Hilton Hawaii, altogether, the towers would nearly double the inventory of timeshare units to 1,200 from the current 650 and create about 700 jobs.
The construction of the first tower is slated to begin in 2013 and be completed in 2015. It will be a 37-story building with 300 rooms. The construction on the second tower, with 25 floors and 250 rooms, is scheduled to begin by 2010. Meanwhile, the project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The building of two new timeshare towers will also be a part of a 10-year master plan at the 22-acre resort.
As Gibson said, Hilton decided to devote all the new units to its timeshare pool based on the success in recent years with other timeshare projects, including the Grand Waikikian, which opened in late 2008 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
For a number of consumers particularly vacationers, timeshares may have been viewed negatively due to some of its disadvantages. Some owners also are thinking about getting rid of their timeshares to unload their financial burden. Despite these, this industry remains a big contribution to the economy. Also, as some timeshare companies are expanding their operations such as the Hilton Hawaii, jobs were also made available which is very important especially with our crisis-stricken economy.
Transfer Smart News: Hilton Hawaii Plans to Expand its Timeshare Towers
by Transfer America on April 5th, 2010
filed under Transfer America
This year, the economic recovery is within sight. But even if the recent recession is more than a year away, the challenges of the timeshare industry such as the profitability and the many owners who are trying to get out of their timeshares just cannot be ignored. This is also the dilemma face by the Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort as it plans to add two more timeshare towers to its already seven towers.
The said Hilton Hawaii’s self-financed project will nearly double the resort’s timeshare capacity costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, the construction is expected to start in 2013 and reach completion two years later. According to Rick Egged, the president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, the project will bring more visitors to Waikiki, which will also bring in more investment and tourism dollars.
However, the optimism for the Hawaii’s tourism industry came from the growing presence of China as the number of big-spending Chinese visiting the United States is expected to rise by 15% this year, reaching more than 550,000, and Hawaii is a prime destination. According to Mike McCartney, president and chief executive of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Chinese visitors have become Hawaii’s highest daily spenders, and recent bookings show that the outbound travel from this growing market is picking up again.
Currently, the economic indicators create optimism to any industry, although shakily. For the timeshare industry, although a considerable number of owners who try to get rid of their timeshares still exist, timeshare operators are positive about the road to economic recovery. As a matter of fact, a number of them are on their way to expanding their operations as of the first quarter of this year and one of them who is the Hilton Hawaii Timeshares.
